Omaha bars challenge city's Sunday liquor laws

UPDATED 11:55 PM CDT Mar 15, 2013

OMAHA, Neb. -

If drinkers plan to hit it hard Sunday morning on St. Patrick’s Day, they shouldn't expect to find hard liquor for sale in every Omaha bar or restaurant.

Last year, the state passed legislation that said cities could allow the sale of hard liquor before noon on Sundays -- in addition to beer and wine, which was already legal -- but Omaha city code hasn't caught up.

Since the code hasn't changed, bars like O’Connor’s Irish Pub in the Old Market had to pay $65 to get a special permit to sell mixed drinks and hard liquor St. Patrick's Day morning. The establishment is one of 23 Omaha bars that did so.

Katie O’Connor said she spent about $12,000 to stock up on booze for the weekend.

“I've been buying for about three weeks,” she said.

Bars outside of Omaha do not have these same restrictions, because state legislators agree booze is booze.

“Alcohol is just basically alcohol in whatever form it's in,” said Sen. Abbie Cornett.

Cornett introduced legislation that senators passed last year to remove the differentiation. Cities can now legalize hard liquor sales on Sunday mornings, just as they had done with beer and wine.

“The retailers were talking about lost revenue and so were the restaurants,” Cornett said.

City councilman Ben Gray agreed that the special hard liquor permits in the city don't make sense.

"I would want us to be in a position, so that our bars and restaurants can compete,” Gray said.

Gray said bars like O'Connor's should not have to jump through legal hoops in a special permitting process.

The Omaha Police Department said if it catches bars serving hard liquor or mixed drinks before noon on Sunday, those without the special permit, they could get in trouble.

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